Feeding the poor: Contribution of West African fisheries to employment and food security

• West African small-scale fisheries' landed value was estimated at 3.5 b US year.
• Around 6.7 million people depend directly on small-scale fisheries in West Africa.
• Coastal populations are increasingly relying on fisheries despite increasing costs.
• Poverty is increasing because (in part) of increasing costs and over-exploitation.

West African small-scale fisheries are analyzed to determine their contribution to the economy, food security (catches and employment) and poverty alleviation (income and choice of activity). Previous quantitative analysis revealed major discrepancies between official data (which essentially underreports artisanal and ignores subsistence fisheries catches) and re-estimated data obtained from various reports. This resulted in a doubling of the landed value of small-scale fisheries catches to 3.5 billion USD year−1 compared to officially reported numbers. Similarly, employment estimated officially at 1 million fishers was found here to be only 70% higher when subsistence fisheries are included. For the 22 West African countries considered in this study, we estimate that 6.7 million people directly depend on fishing activities for their food and/or livelihood. Furthermore, the present study shows an increasing reliance of West Africa's coastal population on fisheries for their food and income despite decreasing total income and increasing fishing costs, which in turn aggravated poverty. The notion that small-scale fisheries could contribute to poverty alleviation despite crises and shocks is thus highly contestable. Indeed, although the number of people depending on fisheries is still increasing, driven by their current (even though decreasing) profitability, the perception of small-scale fishing as an activity of last resort is probably justified, and more appropriate than viewing it as a source of sustainable livelihood.